Report: Redskins to wait until after draft to hire GM

The Washington Redskins intend to wait until after the NFL draft to hire a new head of football operations, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The Redskins were on the verge of hiring former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith as president before naming Ron Rivera their new head coach, according to Schefter.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder reportedly met with Smith multiple times in the Bahamas before the team hired a coach. After Rivera was appointed the squad's bench boss, Snyder decided to give him a greater voice in player personnel decisions rather than closing the deal with Smith.

"I took this job for one simple reason, one simple reason: because Dan Snyder came to me with a very interesting perspective," Rivera told local media when introduced as head coach. "For weeks, he's explored the reasons why some teams win and some teams don't. He told me the common factor in that transitional success of teams like the Patriots, the Seahawks, and the Chiefs ... was the decision to take it and make it a coach-centered approach."

Smith left the Houston Texans at the end of December 2017 to tend to his wife, who was battling breast cancer. Tiffany Smith died Jan. 31, 2019.

The Redskins fired top personnel executive Bruce Allen, who held the title of president, after the regular season. Allen spent a decade with the club.

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